A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abayomi Nurain Mumuni, has defended First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu following criticism of her call for Nigerians to embrace small-scale businesses as a path to economic self-reliance.
Speaking in remarks reported by Vanguard on Sunday, June 28, 2026, Mumuni said the First Lady’s comments had been misunderstood and were intended to encourage women and low-income households to pursue low-capital ventures capable of generating steady income.
“The reality is that some poor Nigerians only need a token to start a business and get it right. For some Nigerians, N50,000 or N100,000 is enough to start a business and begin making profits,” he said.
Mumuni noted that petty trading and informal businesses sustain millions of Nigerian families and cited government support programmes, including the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme, Presidential Palliative Loan Programme, Bank of Industry intervention funds, and schemes under the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
He said the initiatives reflect the Federal Government’s commitment to entrepreneurship and urged Nigerians to focus on tackling insecurity, poverty, and unemployment through constructive, solution-driven dialogue rather than controversies.
